More than 120 schools and academies are set to introduce brand new accountancy software designed specifically for the education sector this month, after raising concerns that current systems are not fit for purpose.

 The new software, HCSS Accounting, has been developed by Macclesfield-based HCSS Education, which worked closely with a group of experienced education finance practitioners and leading figures from academies, schools and local authorities to develop the product over the past two years.

 The software has been piloted in more than 30 educational establishments in the UK since May, allowing school leaders and finance teams to provide feedback and help fine-tune the final version which launches on the 5 September. Over 90 per cent of the pilot schools have since signed up to use HCSS Accounting as their accountancy system.

 HCSS Education’s founder, Howard Jackson, decided to develop the system after hearing from several customers that their current accounting software wasn’t fit for the specific needs of schools and academies.

 He said; “I lost count of the amount of times our customers complained about the challenges they were facing with their off the shelf accounting packages. I knew there was a real demand for bespoke accounting software in the education sector and I was really keen to work closely with schools and academies to develop a product which truly meets their specific needs.

 “It’s been two years in the making and we are delighted to see so many schools and academies taking up HCSS Accounting before it has even launched to market.

 “We have built a fantastic team to support and deliver the software and we’re really proud of our associates programme too, which will provide additional training and assistance to our new customers whilst giving associates the opportunity to generate income by supporting other schools and academies with HCSS Accounting.”

 HCSS Accounting is the first completely web-based accounting package designed solely for the education sector. The cloud-based software allows users access from anywhere, at any time and it’s been developed to be extremely easy to use, so no prior accounting training is needed.

 Michaela Groves MBE, Academy Business Manager at Atwood Primary Academy, said: “We’ve been crying out for a finance solution which actually works for our school and provides us with the information we need. I’m not surprised to hear so many customers have already signed up. HCSS Accounting is really easy to navigate around and the fact it’s on a cloud-based system means our information is secure and in one place, offering us greater flexibility and convenience. You can really tell that people that do this job day in day out have helped to design it. I’m sure it’s going to make a huge difference for us over the coming years.”

 HCSS Education is taking orders for the product and has launched an early adopter programme where those that purchase the software now will benefit from up to 50% off the commercial price of HCSS Accounting*. For more information, please visit www.hcsseducation.co.uk/software/hcss-accounting